5
Premiums
Total premium revenue in Canada
surpassed $103 billion in 2015. Year-over-
year growth was led by market-based
annuities in segregated fund products, up
7.8%; followed by health insurance, up
3.1%; and life insurance, up 2%.
Contributions to the Canadian economy
Life and health insurers play an important and stabilizing role in financial markets, even during unstable
economic periods, with their strong market presence as steady providers of long-term capital for
businesses and governments. The resilient nature of the business, the industry's conservative balance
sheets and strong regulatory capital position, help prevent life insurer failures (the infrequent failures
in the past have not resulted in any cost to taxpayers). The industry's contributions to the Canadian
economy in 2015 include:
• over $1.6 billion a week in benefit payments to Canadians, helping to reduce the cost of government
support programs;
• being a major investor in Canadian financial assets, representing almost 10% of the country's financial
assets;
• $6.6 billion in tax contributions – twice the industry's corresponding share of Canadian GDP;
• employing over 148,600 Canadians – 55,200 full-time employees and 93,400 agents/advisors;
• extensive and growing foreign operations, creating many well-paying head-office jobs in Canada
Consumer complaints
Consumers typically resolve their complaints directly with their insurance company. In some cases, the
industry's third-party dispute resolution service, the OmbudService for Life & Health Insurance (OLHI), is
used to provide free, impartial dispute resolution services for policyholders. OLHI handles around 2,400
consumer complaints each year, and over 60% of these relate to claims. OLHI also provides consumers with
information about life insurance products and services. For more details, visit olhi.ca.
Consumer protection
In the unlikely event their life insurance company should fail, Canadian policyholders are financially
protected by Assuris, an independent, not-for-profit organization established and funded by the industry.
Insurers are also strictly regulated for solvency by federal and provincial regulators, such as the Office of
the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) and the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF). For
more details, visit www.assuris.ca.
2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015
$20B
-
$40B
$60B
$80B
$100B
$120B
Segregated funds
Annuities
Health
Life
Contents
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View historical data
